The present invention relates to an elongate hollow support structure intended in particular to support the equipment units in the vicinity of the dashboard of an automobile vehicle.
This kind of support structure is well known in the art; usually referred to as a crossmember, it is made of metal and disposed transversely to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle at the front end of the passenger compartment and supports equipment units such as the dashboard itself, the steering column, the heater or air-conditioner, the air bag(s) and other equipment.
The crossmember is generally fixed to the frame of the body of the vehicle near its ends. To this end, members are attached, in particular welded, to its ends, as described in the document EP-A-694 465, U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,235 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,023, for example. This method is costly.
It has also been proposed to fasten to each end of the beam structure a transverse flange for fixing and/or retaining the dashboard itself, the contour of said flanges matching the section of the dashboard or even its trim.
Until now the above kind of flanges have been welded to the support structure. Apart from the fact that this operation is difficult and costly, it does not facilitate storing or transporting structures equipped in this way to the place where the vehicles are assembled, especially as said flanges can be large; moreover, they are fragile and can be deformed during storage or transportation.
The present invention provides an elongate hollow support structure intended in particular to support the equipment units of an automobile vehicle in the vicinity of its dashboard, the ends of said structure including a transverse end flange for fixing and/or retaining the dashboard itself and/or for fixing the hollow support structure to the body of the vehicle, said support structure having a lower unit cost than prior art support structures.
According to the invention, a support structure of the above kind is characterized in that each end flange is fastened to a plastics material plug inserted into said support structure, to the ends of which it is fastened.
The plug advantageously includes a baseplate from which protrudes a block, said baseplate projecting relative to the block to define a peripheral transverse rim.
If the section of the structure delimits a plurality of closed spaces, a plurality of blocks preferably protrude from the baseplate and each of said blocks is adapted to be mounted in one of said spaces.
The plug is advantageously adapted to be force-fitted into said structure.
If the structure includes transversely facing openings for fixing members for fixing the structure to the body or the plug to the structure, to pass through then the plug has a passage through it aligned with said openings.
The openings and the passage preferably have an oblong section.
The passage is advantageously bordered by a metal tube.
The plug is preferably molded over the metal tube.
The inside surface of one or both ends of the hollow support structure adapted to receive a plug is preferably provided with means for facilitating aligning the passage(s) with said openings.
The inside surface of the ends of the structure is advantageously not a surface of revolution.
The inside surface of one or both ends of the hollow support structure is preferably a surface of revolution and has a notch at the end adapted to cooperate with a raised portion on the outside surface of the plug(s).
The plug is advantageously fastened to the end flange by means of a bracket having rims attached, for example welded, to the end flange.
The plug is preferably a block which has a groove in which the bracket locates, straddling the block.
The plug is advantageously a block molded onto the bracket.
The bracket is advantageously generally U-shaped and the passage in the plug is advantageously parallel to the flanges of the bracket.
The bracket is advantageously generally U-shaped and the passage in the plug is advantageously perpendicular to the flanges of the bracket which are advantageously provided with openings aligned with the end of the passage.
Alternatively, the end flange has an anchorage over which the plug is molded; the anchorage is obtained by cutting and pressing; the anchorage is obtained by cutting and bending lugs.
The openings of the structure are advantageously obtained by hydroforming and the block advantageously has a lateral notch for avoiding a tongue resulting from hydroforming when mounting the plug in the structure.
To explain the purpose of the invention better, embodiments of the invention shown in the appended drawings by way of purely illustrative and non-limiting example will now be described.